Sam Semple

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A pivotal moment was when I first heard David Crosby sing 'Deja Vu' from the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album of the same name. I immediately binned my Olivia Newton John record and decided to learn the acoustic guitar and become a songwriter. Next, I discovered Neil Young and that was it: the long and winding journey began in earnest, 'the longest drum roll in history'.



Seeing Kris Kristofferson perform live in London at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2004 was another key moment. The brilliance of his songs and the sheer dignity of the man struck me very powerfully. It made a huge impression and inspired me to continue the journey, to let it meander and to never give up. Kris Kristofferson is a great inspiration in my life:



I've come to appreciate how special a song is compared to other art forms, because you can carry it around in your head and your heart and it remains part of you. It just comes as natural as a bird to me, always did. It's the way singer-songwriters make sense of our lives. - Kris Kristofferson



I'm inspired by 'literary songwriters' and great lyricists, Kristofferson, Dylan etc. I think it's important to read books, to be inspired by great writers, and to try and practise writing well, to even write the odd letter to your friends now and then.



I originally worked for Douglas Adams on h2g2, an encyclopedic website based on Adams's novel The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, and I'm back working on the h2g2 project for now at the BBC.



I write with Tom Baxter and we wrote a song together called 'Better' which featured on Tom's second album Skybound. It was later covered by Boyzone. We also a wrote a song called 'Miracle' which was used by the BBC in a great montage showing highlights of the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games.



Another big inspiration is my dad, Shel Macrae, a brilliant singer who sang with 60s and 70s harmony pop band The Fortunes, and who's still singing like a legend today. The songs my dad sang - in particular those written by ace songwriters Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway - are a big influence on my own writing.